October 2023 Meeting Notes

Retreat

The Mad Mod Quilt Guild is hosting ‘A Little Getaway’ retreat for members from Nov. 3-5 at The Violet Room in Mount Horeb. Each day of the retreat is separate to provide the greatest flexibility for guild members. Space is still available! You can reserve a spot here

Proposed bylaws change

We discussed a proposed bylaws change to section 4.5.1: Elected officers may not serve more than one consecutive term in any one office. This bylaw prevents one person or a group of people from running over again. Change in leadership is good and helps the guild evolve! 

  • The proposed change: Elected officers may not serve more than one consecutive term in any one office, unless at the end of the term there is no new nominee. If there is no nominee then the current officer, if they choose, may be the nominee for their current position. This is a voluntary option. The nominee must still be elected by the membership.
  • We are proposing this change because of a lack of nominees to fill positions. Board positions need to be filled. Current board members may wish to continue in their position, and this would permit that for one more term.
  • We will be voting on this bylaws change at the beginning of the November guild meeting. If you have any questions about the change, please reach out to the officers.

Officer nominations

We still need nominees for officer roles! We currently have nominees for secretary and treasurer. We need nominees for President, Vice-President, Event Planners, and Event Coordinators. We have to have these positions filled in order for the guild to function. Learn more about the officer roles and what they do here. If you are interested in any of these roles, please contact the officers. We will be voting to fill the board roles at the November guild meeting. 

Dues for 2024

We also discussed an increase in the current dues. Right now, annual dues are $45 per year. The guild has had increased expenses due to virtual presentation subscriptions to keep the meetings hybrid, Pay Pal fees, and meeting space fees. The dues for 2024 will be $55 for the year. (Dues will be $27.50 if you join after July 1). Along with some fundraising gaps, this will help close the fiscal gap to cover the expenses of all of the guild activities. If the dues increase would be a hardship for you, please contact the President (Dustin) or Treasurer (Tara) to discuss alternative payment. Our newly updated guild website will allow you to pay your dues online. 2024 membership registration will begin in December.

Guild website updates

The guild website was overdue for a refresh. Many parts of the website were under utilized, some were outdated, and some weren’t being used at all. The guild engaged the services of Jason Elliott, a web designer to make the major changes. Check it out to see these features:

About: Now contains our FAQ’s, basic membership information, by laws, current officers, announcements and a “contact us” feature.

Shop: We now have a little store to handle things like retreat payments and registration, swag shop and membership dues and registrations.

Calendar: This will serve to share guild meetings and activities, quilting-related events and shows, and other events of interest to the guild. Outside groups and individuals may submit a request to have their event posted. This will be reviewed by the board.

Activities: This section will be used to post guild sponsored activities like swaps, block lottos and other meeting information. Links to registrations and other site features will be incorporated.

Archive: This now contains meeting minutes, past block lottos, and photos.

Layer Cake Swap

Sign up for the layer cake swap by October 26 using the Google form shared by the guild! Each participant will provide a TBD amount of 10x10inquiet low volume fabric squares to be divided among the rest of the participants. Each person will go home with a full 40pc layer cake, so exactly how many squares to submit will depend on the number of participants. More info to follow once sign-ups are complete. Quiet Low Volumes are fabrics where if you squint the fabric

looks white, ivory or cream. No beige, silver, or pastels. For questions about the swap, reach out to Casey, Marian, or Tracy. 

Drop Off and Pick Up locations for the swap:

• Blue Bar Quilts or Electric Needle (no earlier than Dec 5)

• mail to Casey (see email for Casey’s address)

• bring to Dec Mad Mod meeting

Presentation from Jessica Swift

We heard from Jessica Swift, an artist, surface pattern designer and fabric designer living

and working in Portland, Oregon. She creates and licenses her artwork for branded products such as fabric, stationery, puzzles, books, and more. She works in both traditional materials and digital media to create colorful, magically uplifting artwork that inspires others to live colorful, unique, and hope-filled lives. Learn more about Jessica and her fabric collections here